Seed money made available by the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles aims to foster the development of new goods-movement technologies that will help to improve air quality at the nation’s two largest ports.
The funding is part of the ports’ Technology Advancement Program, or TAP. This year’s 2018 Call for Projects requests concept papers for a variety of projects that have the potential to reduce emissions, including diesel particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and greenhouse gases. Projects for vessels, trucks, trains, terminal equipment and harbor craft that warrant further consideration will be invited later to submit a full proposal. Concept papers are due Tuesday, May 22.
Since 2007, the ports have distributed more than $21 million in funds to advance the commercial availability of technology that will help lower health risks posed by air pollution from ships, trucks, harbor craft, cargo handling equipment and rail locomotives serving the ports.
The TAP was created by the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP), adopted in 2006 to lower health risks from air pollution. Updated last November, the CAAP now calls for even more aggressive strategies to reduce pollution and greenhouse gases and to ultimately transition to zero emissions operations over the next 20 years.
Compared to 2005 levels, port-related air pollution emissions in San Pedro Bay have dropped 87 percent for diesel particulate matter, 56 percent for nitrogen oxides, and 97 percent for sulfur oxides.